To The Forest, Towards The Sea
by reedusandweep
Summary: No matter what. I will not send you into the darkness alone.


**Hello!**

**I know, I know. I'm horrible at updating BUT I was working on Pretty Much Dead Already and I realized I had a bunch of drafts for ideas that I have been working on since I started this story. I decided some of them I actually liked even though I'm not putting them into the story. So I figured I would start a side fic containing all of these one-shots. **

**Most of them will not follow the story line that I have with PMDA but a few of them hint at things that have happened in that story. So it's not necessary to read PMDA if you haven't, but it would be helpful so you understand the relationship my OC and Daryl have. I really wanted to share these with all my fantastic readers who keep my story going even when I'm not so motivated to move the plot along. I just have a lot I want to do with Heather and Daryl but a majority of these ideas don't fit in with the original story line. They're going to be jumping around a lot and I'm actually really nervous about posting these. I've only ever written long stories before so this is new to me. I'll try to post a new one every few days to a week since these are way faster for me to get to.**

**I hope you enjoy!**

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In the darkness she resembled a corpse; hollow and pale.

The fire illuminated the black eyes, a small price to pay for the proof something inside her was still kindling. Weeks they'd gone without sleep, constantly on the run and Daryl finally began to think they wouldn't be able to go on much further. Exhaustion was no longer his biggest worry as he stared at her through the fire.

The scars on her arm were still visible and even though enough time had passed, he could still see the way her fingers were shaking from the restraint it took to keep from jumping back into the flames.

"Maybe he's still alive." she said so quietly he thought he had imagined it.

There were many things he could try to deny until he was blue in the face. He couldn't ignore the truth behind the past as much as he wanted to.

She had been holding onto that hope.

He stood up and kicked dirt into the fire, smothering it.

Heather kept her eyes to the ground.

"C'mon." he muttered, "We gotta get goin'."

She remained seated, her lower lip trembling.

"If they catch up to us, we're good as dead." Daryl reminded her, wincing at the pain in his side.

"Where are we going?" she asked, rising to her feet.

Daryl shrugged and pressed his hand against the wound. It was still bleeding, slower now though it would pick up again when they kept moving.

"Away from here."

She seemed to accept the answer, the spark gone from her eyes as she grabbed the stick off the ground. The only weapon they had. They shared a limp now and Daryl couldn't forget about the times he would curse her for being too slow when they were out hunting.

Despite the mind numbing pain he was suffering, she still struggled to keep up with him. He knew that if he turned around, she would be looking to the ground, the void expression she had worn for the last week masking any bit of pain she endured.

Just a couple days ago he began to notice how she would absently touch the scar the covered her face, the only physical sign she had the first time it had happened. The scars she carried now were mental and Daryl wished he had been able to prevent it a second time.

Not that he hadn't tried.

No one knew how hard he fought.

In the end, he was left bleeding out on the ground while she thrashed against the ropes, screaming his name so loudly, her voice still echoed. She proved to be not only smarter, but stronger as she eventually broke free and avenged the innocence of their relationship. She dragged him out to the woods, somehow managing to get him to a safe spot where they stayed until he was able to move.

The black eyes showed up the next morning and her desire to speak more than necessary had vanished. He had become unnerved by her silence but couldn't make himself to fix it.

"He could still be alive." Heather said again after they moved through the woods.

Daryl let out a sigh of frustration and shook his head. He couldn't keep the scene from replaying in his mind on a constant loop but he tried to keep his own grief hidden to help ease hers. His lesser instincts told him to lash out and force her out of his company. He would be able to die in peace but thinking about her leaving scared him enough to keep his mouth shut.

"Heather," he said through gritted teeth, leaning against a tree, "Don't."

She was frowning but stayed silent. She waited patiently for him to catch his breath, then followed behind him again once he started moving.

"He came back from the dead twice."

Daryl stopped this time and turned around. Her eyes were wide and full of tears. He wanted to scream at her but he could only shake his head again.

"You saw." he told her, "Ain't no one allowed to come back from that."

She faltered and he wondered if it was just now hitting her.

"But it's Rick." her voice shook, "He can't be dead."

Daryl took a step towards her.

"You saw him get shot in the head. Twice." Daryl didn't hear his own voice tremble, "Point blank. He's dead. Him, Michonne, Glenn. They're _dead_. Shot down by the same people that killed Lori. You saw 'em all die with ya own eyes."

He turned back around when her face fell and her gaze was stuck to the ground as she nodded once. He took a few labored steps when he heard the leaves rustle behind him when she dropped to her knees.

There were tears but Daryl saw she was trying to hold back the extent of what she had to unleash.

"Get up." he ordered her, "We can't stop here."

She shook her head, biting down on her lip. The sun was beginning to rise, the chirping of birds the only indication that there was still life on the planet.

"Get up!" he ordered again, hissing in frustration.

"I can't." she cried, "I can't do it anymore."

He could feel her defeat and he took in a deep breath. She looked broken on the ground, the ghost of who she had been. Her hands covered her dead face but he could see the tears leaving stains in the dried blood.

She was no longer tenacious or cold and Daryl felt his own strength crumbling as he stumbled towards her. He could hear her quiet, choked sobs as he knelt in front of her, tearing her hands away.

"Please don't make me do this anymore." she begged him through breaths.

"Look at me." he commanded and as always, she obeyed, "You can do this."

She began to shake her head, his heart giving out the sight.

"You have to." he continued quietly, "You have to. I can't-"

He met her eyes, sighing as she reached forward to grip the collar of his vest, pulling herself closer to him. He opened his arms for her to move against him.

"I can't do this without you." he finished, closing his eyes.

She hugged his body tightly, trying to climb inside of him. He crushed her against him, biting back a cry of pain from the movement. He buried his face into the curve of her neck, scared of what would happen if he let go.

"You told me back at the prison that I ain't allowed to leave you behind," she nodded her head, grasping at his hair, "You ain't allowed to leave me. We got out together. We do this together."

She nodded again, her body shaking against his.

"I ain't ready to die and I sure as Hell ain't ready for you to die, OK?" he pulled away from her, suddenly cold from the loss of contact.

He held her face in his hands, wiping at the fresh tears with the pads of his thumbs. He could wipe away the blood and the dirt but the pain would still be there.

"We hafta get up. We gotta get goin'."

He tried to rise but she grabbed his wrist, keeping him in place.

"I don't blame you." she said softly, "For Rick, for what happened last week. None of it was your fault."

Until then, he hadn't realized how badly he needed to hear those words. He forgot that like he was able to read her like a book, she was able to do the same with him. He could comfort her and even though she was hurting, she would return the gesture. She would be swept out to sea and he allow himself to be drown in her wake.

He saw the small spark return to her eyes when he grabbed her hand and pulled her up.

"Maggie could still be alive." she suggested after a few minutes.

He sighed but held his tongue.

He would allow her to carry this one hope, if only to keep her striving for something more.

He had promised her he wouldn't leave her behind, pinky swore that it if they lost everything else, they'd have each other.

He meant to keep his promise and if the others were still alive, he would follow her until the end.


End file.
